Playing with Tyler

If you can believe it, I had yet another visitor for a long weekend. And this time it was my extra best friend, Tyler.

During the last couple of years, I've actually seen Tyler more in Europe than I have in the United States. He's been studying in Paris for quite some time now, so I visited him while I studied in Sevilla, I spent last Christmas with him and his family, and now he finally came to Spain.

Of course I promptly took him on my official guided tour so he could see the sights. And, since the weather was nice, we also took a stroll by the sea and had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants: La Bombeta

The boardwalk by the sea

Yummy seafood at La Bombeta

Craft fair

But on the way home from my typical tour of the city, we ran into something unexpected. From a distance we heard crowds of people and a drum beat. As we turned the corner, we realized it was coming from a large festival in the park near my apartment. We obviously decided to investigate and, subsequently, join the party.

Turns out, it was a fairly epic and tad bit strange festival celebrating Earth Day. In all my detachment from my life in the States, I completely forgot that April 20^th is Earth Day, of course. So I was very happy that we stumbled upon the fair.

Thumbs up for solar power!

.....what are those Spaniards doin' over there?

Arts and Crafts garden, of course

Tyler and I walked around all afternoon, soaking up the sunshine and Spanish hippie culture. As you would expect in any proper Earth Day celebration, there were people lying in the grass, playing music, selling art work, creating art work, and lines of booths promoting their own environment-related cause.

While we strolled around the park, I realized that I actually had no idea that this type of community existed here in the city. In hindsight, that was a pretty ridiculous oversight because of course there are environmentalists all around the world, and in particular in a city as progressive and artsy as Barcelona.

But what really struck me was how much it reminded me of Madison. Images of people lying in the grass, children doing arts and crafts, guys playing the bongo drums, and activists handing out flyers made the historic park in Barcelona look remarkably like Library Mall in Madison.

After we walked around the booths for a while, we finally found the main event: the food.

Roll your own bread!

Cheese!

We had a lovely time at the festival. It was a nice surprise for a sunny afternoon. The atmosphere was fun and familiar, and as an added bonus, we got to celebrate Earth Day!

Arc de Triumf

Over the weekend we also convinced my roommates and friends to come out with us for a night of Mojitos, my new favorite summer drink. It was great to hang out with them and Tyler. And oh, did they love hanging out with Tyler.

Roommates, friends, and Tyler

Typical

Laura learned how to throw up the Gaga

By the end of the night, not only were my Spanish friends speaking English with Tyler (which they never do because they are too shy), but they also began to ask me when I was moving out and told Tyler that he could move into my room. They even suggested that perhaps he could be their English teacher... (That's when I put my foot down and stopped the extreme bonding).

We had a great night. And to be sure, Tyler joined the list of their favorite Americans.

Out for tapas on Tyler's last night

Tyler is one of my oldest friends. We have been friends for over 9 years. So to have him around was something extra special.

It has been, and will continue to be during these last few months of living abroad, a great comfort to know that I have a great friend a very short plane ride away.